As If By Magic
by Tiggy the Hopeless Romantic
Summary: As the Animals are slowly stripped of their rights, Elphaba finds a valuable ally, partner, and friend in Fiyero. And maybe something more.
1. The Lion Cub

Hello there! Well, I began my story Better To Have Loved the day Rent closed on Broadway, and decided to continue the "tradition" with posting a new story the day my other favorite show (Spring Awakening) closed. So I give you As If By Magic, inspired partially by the song of the same name from Wicked's workshops. I admit this chapter is mostly dialogue from the musical, but read carefully: there are a few subtle, important changes... and anyway, it's nice and long.

This is going to be a little AU... basically, Oz at large more closely resembles the world invented in the novel... the characters are based more in the musical.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Why in Oz did I let her do this to me? And then let her send me out to the wolves, all alone? _Elphaba felt miserable as she suffered under the glares and looks of wonder from her classmates. She was going to _kill _Galinda. Why did Elphaba have to let her do this? It was ridiculous!

In short: Galinda had given her a makeover; she had covered her in make-up and fancy clothes. And hadn't had the decency of actually braving the odd looks with her new "best friend forever." She claimed to be sick. Elphaba had pointed out the differences between the flu and a hangover, but hadn't won the argument.

So she stood there in her history class, wearing a fitted white blouse and a skirt that was shorter than any of the ones she owned. Feeling miserable she tossed her long hair, and it did nothing but get in her eyes and stick to her lipstick. When she'd pushed the stray hair out of her eyes, she saw Fiyero, Galinda's perfectly scandalous boyfriend. At least she thought it was Galinda's perfectly scandalous boyfriend: the blonde had told Elphaba not to wear her glasses, seriously impairing her vision.

Even near-sighted she could tell Fiyero was staring at her. "What?" she asked, annoyed.

"Nothing," he said holding a hand up in protest. He didn't seem to be as hungover as her roommate was. It suggested he was a much better drinker than she was(which Elphaba didn't doubt) "It's just... you've been "Galinda-fied". You don't have to do that , you know?"

"Some of us have to try to look presentable. Some people don't always look flawless."

He nodded. "I know that. I just mean, _you_don't have to do all that." They both turned red as she realized what he'd implied. She'd never been more relieved to see Doctor Dillamond come into the room to begin class. She sat down in the front seat and tried not to frown as Fiyero sat down beside her.

"Alright, take your seats, class! I have something to say, and very little time to say it. This is my last day here at Shiz. I am no longer permitted to teach. I want to thank you for your sharing your enthusiasm, your essays.. no matter how feebly structured, and even, on occasion, your lunch." At the last comment he gave Elphaba a small smile.

Before she could respond Madame Morrible rushed in, looking flustered, saying, "Doctor Dillamond! I'm so dreadfully sorry." She touched the Professor's shoulder.

"Madame, we've got to do something," Elphaba heard herself speak up, feeling her classmates' eyes on her.

Doctor Dillamond laid a hand on her desk. "Miss Elphaba, they can take away my job, but I shall continue speaking out," he gently said as if his flustered student needed more consoling than he did.

Two men in Gale Force uniforms walked in as if they owned the classroom and the students were an inconvenience. One grabbed Dillamond's arm, saying "Come on, goat..." Elphaba shivered at the slur, and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Fiyero. She shrugged him off, remembering previous conversations with her teacher on the Animals' loss of rights.

As they hauled him away, their professor gave up on his calm facade. "They are not telling you the whole story!" Elphaba felt like he was speaking directly to her. "Remember that, class! Remember that."

"Doctor Dillamond!" Again, she heard her voice speaking out without her consent. A long moment passed in which no one said anything. "Well?" She asked Fiyero, Morrible, anyone who happened to be listening to her.

"Miss Elphaba, there is nothing we can do. The Wizard has made a decision for the best of Oz. Who are we to question his wisdom?," Morrible said, leaving the room as another man came in. "Students, meet your new professor, Doctor Nikidik."

"Good morning, students!" His voice was cheery and Elphaba couldn't help but note that the new teacher was human. Her classmates murmurred greetings back to him and he launched right into his lesson. "Every day, with every tick of the Time Dragon Clock, in every corner of our great Oz, one hears the silence of progress. For example: this is called a cage" He pulled a dark sheet off of the top of a box. Inside the cage sat a small Lion cub, shivering. " Now, we will be seeing more and more of them in the near future. This remarkable innovation is actually for the Animal's own good..."

"If this is for his own good, then why is he trembling?" Elphaba asked. The room wasn't cold at all, spring had come.

The professor glared at her. "He's just excited to be here, that's all." He lightly shook the cage, jostling it's inhabitant. "Now, as I was saying, one of the benefits of caging a Lion cub while he's young is that he never, in fact, will learn how to speak."

"What?" Elphaba was halfway out of her chair, completely horrified. She felt Fiyero rise beside her.

Doctor Nikidik thought quickly, "That's right! Come closer!" he motioned all of the students up so they could get a better look.

Elphaba whispered to Fiyero, "Can you imagine a world where Animals are kept in cages and they never speak? What should I do?"

His eyes widened as he realized that the entire rest of the class had mindlessly crowded around the cage. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Well, somebody has to do something!" Sparks literally flew. Her classmates and Professor jerked and fidgeted uncontrollably, uncomfortably. For some reason, Fiyero was unaffected, he merely stared in her with an expression ranging between, fear, shock, horror, and admiration. She told heself not to think about the last one.

"What's happening?" he asked nervously.

She stuttered, anxious and frightened. "I-I don't know. I got mad...and.. and-"

"Alright just don't move." He hesitated and added, "And don't get mad at me!" He pushed past the others and grabbed the cage. "Well, are you coming?" She nodded and ran after him.

* * *

The forest behind Shiz was a common spot for lovers to frequent together. The pair weren't worried about lust at the moment. "Careful! Don't shake him!" She snipped at her partner-in-crime as he carried the infant Lion's cage.

"I'm not," he said. annoyed.

"We can't just let him loose anywhere, you know. We have to find someplace safe."

He put the cage down and turned to face her. "Don't you think that I realize that? You must think I'm really stupid or something!"

She frowned at him. "No, not _really_ stupid."

The insult wasn't lost on him. "Why is it that every time I see you you're causing some sort of commotion?"

"I don't cause commotions, I am one."

He paced around. It was warm out in the sun, but in the cover of the trees the air was still cool. "That's for sure."

"Oh! So you think I should just keep my mouth shut! Is that what you're saying?"

"No, I'm-"

She didn't let him finish his sentence. "Do you think I want to be this way? Do you think I want to care this much? Don't you know how much easier my life would be if I didn't?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Do you ever let anyone else talk?"

She paused, realizing he had a point. She gestured for him to continue but butted in. "Oh, sorry... But can I just say one more thing?" Exasperated, he nodded. He didn't really have a choice, anyway. "You could have just walked away back there."

"So?"

"So, no matter how shallow and self-absorbed you tend to be-" It was her turn to be cut off.

"Excuse me, there's no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow."

"Bull shit," she said, smirking. "No you're not, or you wouldn't be so unhappy."

For a moment the carefully controlled mask all the seemingly perfect people wear fell off of his face. The facade was back up in seconds. "Fine, if you don't want my help..."

As if it had a mind of it's own, her hand swung forward and grabbed one of his, holding him back. "No, I do!" They stared at each other for a minute before she turned away and knelt beside the cage, opening it to let the baby Animal out. "Poor little thing, it's heart is trembling. I didn't mean for..."

He knelt down beside her and held the cage still as she pulled the tiny version of the Animal out of it. "What did you mean to do? Why was I the only one you didn't do it to?"

Now it was her turn to look a little frightened. She noticed there was a cut on his face and that damned hand of hers decided to touch him again. "Oh look, you're bleeding... it must have scratched you." In a little horror she watched her green fingers on his light cheek, his hand coming up to rest upon hers.

"Yeah.. or maybe it scratched me," he mumbled, distracted. He pulled away from her and her hand landed in her lap. "I better get to safety-I mean the Cub, get the Cub to safety." He picked the small Lion up, letting it rest on his shoulder like an overgrown kitten and left.

"Fiyero!" She called out, but her voice was little more than a whisper and she told himself he only didn't turn around because he couldn't hear her. She turned and went home.

* * *

Mentally shaking himself, he walked to the town outside the University. He knew there was an orphanage that accepted Animals- his family regularly donated to it. He knocked on the door and waited for a tired Maunt- this one a kindly looking Brown Bear. He deposited it into her arms and thanked her, leaving a bit of money to help wherever it could.

He walked home, trying not to look at the forest, wondering if she'd gotten home alright. He didn't know what to make of that girl. She was so different from everyone he'd ever met. He let one hand drift up to where she had touched his face. He wondered if he really could feel her soft hand against his cheek still, or if it was all in his head.

He shook himself as the rain began to fall around him and went home so he could try to clear his head of the politics of Oz, the cruelty to the Animals, and the girl who cared about both things so much.


	2. Failed Communication

Chapter two! Please read and review!

* * *

The next day Galinda and Elphaba were late to class. While this wasn't a particularly unusual occurrence for Galinda, it was for Elphaba and she received quite a few odd looks(more than normal, that is) as the two girls went to two empty seats in the back of the classroom. Elphaba tried to pay attention for a few minutes before giving up and laying her head down in her empty book.

After class, Fiyero, who had been sitting next to an empty seat in the front went immediately to the back so he could speak with the girls. Without greeting his girlfriend, he lightly touched the other girl's arm, "Elphaba, what's the matter? You don't look well."

Her eyes fluttered as she looked up at him, muttering, "Nothing, I'm fine."

Galinda huffed at her, rolling her eyes, "Elphie, please. You don't have to lie. Tell us what's the matter!" It became clear that Fiyero was not the first to notice she was down about something or other and that Galinda had been pestering her about it all morning long. "And if you won't tell me, tell him! Tell someone," she commanded, but then she softened, "Please, I'm worried."

It was that last one, the genuine plea of concern, that made her open up slightly. "Really, it's nothing."

Of course, that wasn't enough for either of her companions. "Elphaba, is it what happened to Doctor Dillamond? You're worried about him?" He guessed.

"I don't... No, it's-" she cut herself of, annoyed. "Yes, that's it."

Galinda and Fiyero exchanged a look, neither of them quite buying it, but accepting that it was at least part of it. Galinda spoke up first, "As sweet as it is that you care so much, there's nothing you can do about that. And Doctor Dillamond wouldn't want you to be depressed. I'm sure he'll be fine. At any rate, being so depressified won't do any good."

"She's right. Worrying won't get anything accomplished," Fiyero said.

Galinda picked up where he left off and prattled on. "And it's so unappealing! You'll get all of these little lines in your forehead when your older."

Elphaba actually laughed at that one. "I'm not really worried about that."

"You look tired. Did you sleep last night?" He asked as the three of them began to walk toward the girls' next class, Madame Morrible's sorcery lessons.

"I did," she said, but Galinda made a buzzing sound.

"You didn't sleep a wink! Not until late, anyway. You were tossing and turning far after midnight. Then this morning it was terrible to try and wake you."

Elphaba shrugged it off. "I've always been a late sleeper, a night owl. You know that,"

"Not this late of a sleeper! I didn't have enough time to put any make up on you, and I let you wear what you wanted to. And we were still late to class. And you, Elphaba Thropp, are _never_ late to class."

"I've been late to class before," she insisted.

"Not because you overslept," Galinda shot back.

Fiyero's head snapped back in forth as if he was watching a high paced tennis match. It was hard to keep up with the girls' banter. It was also difficult to really speak to Elphaba with his now healthy girlfriend monopolizing the conversation. Galinda's light conversation allowed Elphaba to dismiss what she was really feeling. She was able to hide her feelings with sarcasm and metaphors. It didn't phase Galinda... the girl had even admitted she was usually more concerned with a conversation's "flow" rather than it's content. She was willing to accept Elphaba's nonchalant facade as long as her roommate was talking.

Galinda's very presence made it difficult for him to speak, anyway. Something had happened between him and Elphaba the day before, something neither of them would mention in front of his girlfriend. Nothing out and out wrong or inappropriate. But definitely something, a strong connection. Did some of her depression have anything to do with him? He hoped not- he certainly didn't want to be the cause of anyone's sadness. But the idea of her feeling any strong feeling about him was exciting.

What was he thinking? Elphaba was worried about her favorite teacher's fate, the fate of all of the Animals in Oz. She didn't have the time to be worried about her own feelings over a boy... and she probably didn't have any real feeling for him, anyway. And he had a sweet, fun loving, beautiful girlfriend, anyway. He had no business _anywhere_in Elphaba's heart.

Still, he wished he could talk to her without Galinda's interference. They'd spoken so easily the day before. It was difficult to communicate now.

They reached the vacant classroom Morrible used to teach her class, and Galinda chirped at their teacher, "Good morning, Madame!" and ducked into class.

Seeing the opportunity, he grabbed Elphaba's sleeve before she could enter the classroom. "Hey, listen. My father is a King. We have connections. I'll ask him to poke around and see if he can find out anything about what happened to Doctor Dillamond- and the legality of it. I don't know if we can do anything to help, but would at least knowing make it a little better?"

She shrugged, looking down, "Yes, I guess it would. " She looked up at him and smiled a little. "Thank you," she said. As she turned to walk into her class, Morrible came out, looking stern.

"Miss Elphaba, Prince Fiyero?"

Fiyero frowned, not liking the tone. "Yes, Madame?"

"There was an... event in your History class yesterday? A magical outburst and stolen property?"

Elphaba snipped at her teacher, "But Madame, we took a baby Lion. How can an Animal be considered property?"

"The Lion was in your professor's possession. That makes him property. I suspect the theft was _your _doing, " she said, giving Fiyero a significant look. He didn't deny it "And that magic was courtesy of you?" She said, nodding at Elphaba. "At any rate, when the spell broke several _hours_later, you two were the only members of your class unaffected, as well as the only two missing." They exchanged a guilty look. "While I've heard of a troublesome streak from you, Fiyero, I'd expected better from Elphaba. As much as I hate to do it, you will both have detention tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes, Madame," they chorused.

"Fiyero, go on to your next class. The last thing you need is to be late. Come along, Elphaba." The Headmistress turned to leave. Behind her back Fiyero gave Elphaba a small smile which she returned.

Fiyero dismissed the juvenile punishment if it meant he had a chance to spend some time with Elphaba away from Galinda.


	3. Detention

Hey everyone! Thank you for being so patient. I completely changed my plans for this story, and I'm pretty excited about where this is going.

Also, if anyone is interested in joining a Reviewers Group, take a look at my forum. I wanted to start a circle for people to give each other constructive criticism and help with writing.

* * *

Elphaba slumped into Madame Morrible's office, her bag on her shoulder. She had never been in detention before and it wasn't something she particularly looked forward to. She had a thick book with her, and she hoped Madame Morrible would allow her to just sit and read. It wouldn't be so bad; it would be quiet, at least. Well, maybe not. That wasn't accounting for Fiyero, of course. He'd probably cause a scene, distracting her the entire time. She didn't know how he'd gotten a way with calling her a commotion. He was the one that always seemed to occupy her attention. Annoyingly so.

Her reverie was broken by the arrival of the actual boy. Boy? Man? Was that more appropriate? When did a male stop being a boy and become a man? When they married? When they graduated from University? When they got a job? Began courting a girl? When they began to act like an intelligent adult?

If that last one was the case, then Elphaba had met very many boys in her lifetime, and very few men. If that were the criteria, Fiyero was still very clearly a boy... even if physically he had certaintly grown into a man. _Sweet Oz, Elphaba! Stop thinking right now. _She mentally shook herself- thinking about Fiyero in any sort of physical terms would do nothing but give her a headache.

He was late and if looks could kill, Morrible would have been in prison for years for the murder of the boy... man... whatever. He gave their Headmistress as charming a look as possible and sat down in a chair beside Elphaba. She instinctively scooted her chair away from his. "Fiyero, I trust you'll be more punctual in the future? I wouldn't want to have to punish you again for lateness."

"Of course, Ma'am. I'll try to get here ealier next time you have to detain me," he said.

Morrible didn't laugh. "Do I need to remind you that this is a fairly light punishment for theft?"

"But how can freeing a living Animal be considered theft?" The words flew out of Elphaba's mouth before she had a chance to stop them.

Madame Morrible arched an eyebrow, "Elphaba, not you too. I'm sure that the cub was just that: a cub, not a Cub. I trust you both have something to occupy yourselves with?" Her tone made it clear that they'd both _better_ have something to do.

They both settled in, and Morrible sat behind her desk, filing some sort of paper work. The room was too quiet to allow proper focus. Fiyero kept shifting in his seat and she couldn't help but pay attention to him. This distraction was infuriating. How long were they going to be detained? She wasn't going to get anything done... not if he wouldn't sit still. He couldn't seem to get comfortable-he seemed to be trying to fall asleep. His head popped up, his eyes open when the door opened and a girl came in.

"Madame! Erlea Trillings was stung by a bee and we think she's allergic! She's out on near the fountain and-"

Morrible didn't wait for the girl to finish her sentence. "I trust the two of you will keep quiet while I go check on things?"

"Yes, Madame," Elphaba said, speaking for the both of them, giving Fiyero a warning glare.

After she had gone, he turned to her, "What's up with being so subservient to Morrible? You didn't mind giving Nikidik a piece of your mind."

She shrugged, not liking being questioned by him. "I thought he was wrong. I used to be in Morrible's favor. She always talked about writing to the Wizard about me, saying how impressed he would be by me. I don't think she trusts me now."

He touched the back of her hand. The gesture was meant to be comforting, but she jumped away. "I'm sure she isn't really angry. She probably wouldn't have done anything to you if I hadn't been there. She was just teaching me a lesson and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wouldn't worry."

She wouldn't be comforted. "I still would like to speak with the Wizard. I'm sure there's something to be down for Doctor Dillamond."

Fiyero frowned, clearly not wanting to say something, but knowing he would have to. "I wrote to my father. He says that it isn't just Shiz. All around Oz, Animals are being encouraged to step down from positions of power. Politicians, priests, teachers. It's like Animals are losing all of their public positions."

She scowled. "But the Wizard wouldn't... I don't think-"

"I know, it's weird. But my father told me that he received a letter from the Emerald City, encouraging him to ask Animal leaders to step down from any positions of power."

"You can't be right. That's just horrible. There has to be something we're not understanding. Animals aren't any different from humans, not where it counts."

He raised up his hands. "I know, I know. I completely agree with you, it's very wrong that Animals might be being persecuted. But it's possible."

Not wanting to sit still, she got up and looked out the window. She turned back to him slowly. "Something has to be done."

He nodded enthusiastically. "I know that. I'll ask my dad to tell me anything he hears. We'll figure something out, I promise."

She raised an eyebrow. "You'll help me?"

"How could I not?" He reached for her, his hand resting on her arm. She looked so distraught, slightly afraid, and above all else confused. For a second her eyes fluttered shut, and she seemed almost calm, as if she didn't feel so alone. Then the tranquil spell was broken. Her eyes snapped open and bore into him. He felt exposed under her intense gaze. Her brown eyes were probably her most mundane physical feature, compared to her green skin and jet black hair. That was what made them shocking; it was surprising that the normal brown eyes could be as intense as the rest of her. "We'll figure out what to do," he assured her.

And she was a little surprised to realize that she trusted him.


	4. Taking and Giving

Galinda was most definitely blonde, but she was not blind. Something had happened between Fiyero and Elphaba and it did not seem that it would be resolved anytime soon. She knew that Fiyero wasn't cheating on her, simply because Elphaba was too innocent to allow anything like that to happen. She would put others' happiness before her's any day. And she was confident that Fiyero wouldn't simply go behind her back with another girl. He would flirt and charm another girl, but she was sure he would break up with her before he actually acted on it.

It was the fact that she was becoming increasingly convinced that he was flirting and charming Elphaba that worried her. There was nothing for her to get particularly angry over, but it was discomforting to watch the two of them speak in hushed voices to each other in class, or the way he would touch her shoulder to get her attention and his hand would linger on her arm for a moment longer than necessary.

Of course, the real clincher was how much time he had begun spending in the library with her. They would spend hours sitting close together, pouring over thick books on Animal Rights and biology, busily taking notes. While Fiyero did enjoy helping others and definitely had committed himself to helping the Animals, he hated the library. He had to love her if he was spending so much time with her among the molding books.

It was that fact that made Galinda almost willing to break up with him herself, to save herself and everyone else some heartache and some headache. But... he still would wrap his arm around _her_when they were all out together, not Elphaba. He still carried _her_books, not Elphaba's. He still spent his Friday nights with _her_, not Elphaba. But because she still enjoyed his company and was sure he still enjoyed hers, and because there was no real proof that Fiyero actually loved Elphaba, Galinda was not ready to simply give him up. Besides, what if Elphaba purely wanted him as a research partner and wanted nothing to do with him romantically? Why should she waste everything? If Elphaba wanted nothing to do with him, he would never pressure her. And if Elphaba didn't want him, why shouldn't he content himself with his girlfriend? She was sure he could. He had to love her, at least a little.

She changed her name to Glinda, hoping to prove that she was just as passionate and intelligent as Elphaba; it didn't really work. It simply caused her to constantly remind her friends to call her by her new name, not her old. The only one who always remembered that G_a_linda was no more was Boq.

That was what caused many an argument and much drama between him and his own girlfriend. Nessarose was clearly aware of his blind adoration of her. For her part, Glinda didn't know what to do for her. She'd sincerely hoped that Boq and Nessarose would work out, but they didn't seem to. Boq didn't love her the way she wanted him to. Nessarose was aware of that, but refused to acknowledge it and seemed confident that in time he would love her in the all-consuming way she loved him.

It was after she was forced to awkwardly mediate a fight between the two(Fiyero and Elphaba were, _of course_, off together) that Avaric approached her. "And how are you this fine day, Miss Galinda?"

She rolled her eyes, a trait of Elphaba's that had actually managed to rub off on her and reminded him, "Actually, it's Miss Glinda now. Though of course you've got an awful lot to remember. My name probably is pretty low on the list. It must be difficult to actually remember the names of the girls you're actually dating. Remembering one that you're _not_is probably a low priority." Really, she had no idea what Fiyero saw in his best friend. She was sure he must have some redeeming trait- the annoying Avaric and the always polite Fiyero had been close for years. She just couldn't understand _why_.

"I'm not dating anyone right now, Glinda," he said, leaning back against a wall. He was perfectly relaxed and she could see why he was known to have practically a harem of girlfriends, even if he was single at the moment. He was attractive when his mouth was shut, anyway; tall with light hair and green eyes.

His calm annoyed her more than anything else. "What a grave error! How do you stand being single for so long? What's it been, a day?"

"A little closer to a week, I suppose." He gazed at her appreciatively as she straightened out her yellow skirt and brushed a stray hair away from her face. "I never would've thought..." he said, trailing off.

"_What?"_She was getting more annoyed than she had ever been. After an obnoxious day, the last thing she needed was her boyfriend's obnoxious friend teasing her. Normally she was sweet and polite to everyone, as a rule. But just then her patience had run thin and she'd snipped at Avaric. "What is it exactly that you want?"

He raised his hands up in surrender at her unexpected outburst. He'd had no idea that the little blonde was even capable of that much anger. "Nothing. I was just impressed that my best friend's prissy little girlfriend can not only take it, but dish it back out to me. I was impressed, is all."

"Oh," she said, most of the anger evaporating. "Well, thank you, then." With that, she pulled her bag up to her shoulder and was on her way home, leaving Avaric standing slightly shocked and very amused in her wake.


	5. A Little

_**I'm on a roll! This might be the last update for a week or so, though.**_

_"I would like to introduce you all to my new colleague, Miss Elphaba Thropp," he smiled as he clapped her gently on the shoulder, introducing her to the crowd. "Her skill at magic paired with her intelligence and her desire to help all of the minorities in Oz has made her worthy of the status of being my Grand Vizier. I trust you will give her the same respect as you would show me." The Wizard, a kindly looking man her father's age beamed at her as the crowd cheered her name. She waved, a little as he took her by the arm and led her off the balcony, inside. "Is there anything I can do for you, Miss Elphaba? Anything you'd like?"_

_She was overwhelmed for a moment. He'd personally seen to it that all the Animals had been given their jobs back. What more could she want? Well, there was a vain, silly little something. He guessed her wish, and gave it to her. He could do anything, it seemed. He'd degreenified her._

_She smiled at the milky white skin, just like her mother's, her sister's. There wasn't a speck of green on her. Another, younger voice called out to her. "Elphaba! Look at you!" Fiyero walked up to her, smiling. Everyone did nothing but smile at her. He took one of her hands. "You look absolutely lovely." With his other hand he angled her face upward and her eyelids fluttered shut, "Elphaba..."_

"Elphaba!" There wasn't the expected kiss, there was just him shaking her shoulder. It wasn't a sunny, warm day in the Emerald City. It was a cold, rainy night in Shiz.

"What?" She murmured, not feeling particularly intelligent and slightly dazed.

He laughed gently and took the book that had been her pillow away from her. "It's late, the librarian let us stay here after hours because you promised to lock up when we were finished. And we fell asleep."

She blinked, the information both comforting her and bothering her. Luckily, they'd both fallen asleep so he didn't have any reason to tease her for it. But if they'd both fallen asleep, they'd probably been sitting there for a while. The suspicion was confirmed when she looked past him to the clock; three in the morning. "Oh no..." she mumbled.

He shrugged. "It's not so bad. I'll walk you back to your dorm."

"You don't need to do that," she said, not liking his assumption that she needed looking after. He knew better than that.

He fought down the urge to roll his eyes, prepared for her to argue. "I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for me. I'll sleep better knowing you got in OK."

She turned his rebuttal back around on him. "Maybe _I _should walk _you _home, then. I'll sleep better knowing you got in OK." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"Either way, one of us is going to be put out," he pointed out. "Unless you come back to my dorm with me, or I stay the night on your dorm room floor."

She frowned, not liking that idea. "No way."

"I figured you would say that," he said, shrugging. "So I'm going to insist on walking you home."

"So you're going to insist on coddling me by walking me home?

"Oh, no. I wouldn't dream of coddling you. I know you would hate that and would probably think that I only let you win because you are a woman. That is why I can't let you walk me home- you would be offended because I let you do it, for your sake. This is purely for myself, not for you at all. So I can have peace of mind, I'll walk you home. I know you'll probably toss and turn, worrying over whether I got mugged on my way back, but that's just the cross you'll have to bear. I'm confident that you're tough enough to handle it."

She glared at him. "Fine, walk me home if it'll make you feel better."

"Oh it will, it will!" He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Before she could complain, he spoke up. "This is for me, too. It's raining and cool. I'll feel better knowing you haven't gotten pneumonia."

They hurried over the marshy grounds. Winter had come and gone, and the snow had been melting all week. The day's rain had only made the ground softer. Despite herself, she was glad to have his jacket around her. It was still warm from when he had worn it.

They said a quiet goodbye as she went up the steps, and he smiled at her when she glanced over her shoulder at him. She ran up the stairs to the second floor, eager to get in bed so she could sleep and no one would realize she'd been out so late. Glinda was a heavy sleeper and might not notice her coming in if she were quiet.

Of course, luck was not on her side; she'd left her bag in the library and with it her keys. Cursing herself, she knocked on the door, trying not to wake anyone but her roommie. The door was flung open in seconds. When she saw her roommate it was clear Glinda had never gone to sleep, in favor of waiting up for her. She wrapped her arms around her best friend's shoulders. "Elphie, where in the world were you? I was worried sick!"

"I fell asleep in the library," Elphaba admitted.

"Alone?" Glinda asked, letting Elphaba step inside and locked the door behind her.

"Yes," Elphaba whispered, hoping Glinda wouldn't catch the lie.

Of course she did. Glinda frowned without anger, but with a little sadness, and lightly tugged on Fiyero's jacket that still hung on Elphaba's shoulders. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"No!" Elphaba insisted.

Glinda pulled the wet jacket off of her shoulders and hung it up to dry. She found a dry nightgown for Elphaba and helped her change into it. "Stop lying, it doesn't matter. I just need to know the truth."

"A little," she admitted as Glinda shucked off her robe and they both climbed into bed. "Are you angry with me?"

"No," Glinda said and she meant it. "It was a little obvious and I can't really blame you, either." She pulled her blanket up over her shoulders. "You love who you love and you should never feel guilty about that."

Once she was sure Elphaba was asleep, she let herself think. That confirmed it, then. Elphaba loved Fiyero and everyone already knew that Fiyero loved Elphaba more than he could ever hope to love _her_. She would break up with him in the morning, if nothing else for Elphaba's sake.


	6. So Simple?

Of course, it was a little difficult for Fiyero to believe that he was being broken up with, "But what did I do?" She didn't seem at all angry with him. She just seemed to have a dark cloud hanging over. "Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong." Glinda had left before her roommate had even stirred the next morning. Elphaba's brow had been knit and she'd tossed and turned all night. It was so clear that she felt guilty about her own feelings. That was what made Glinda's decision for her; Elphaba would never dream of pursuing Fiyero, no matter how much she wanted him. If she would've Glinda would never be able to trust her. But since she was so self-sacrificing Glinda was willing to be the one to make a sacrifice, for once. So the two of them sat in one of Shiz's cafes before most of the student body was even awake, whispering in hushed voices over lukewarm tea. "That's the problem- you did everything right and now she's in love with you."

"Wait, what?" His eyes were wide open then, staring at her in shock and wonder.

Glinda rolled her eyes, noisily stirring her tea in her cup. "Elphaba loves you, of course. I don't know how even you can mange to not know that."

"But-"

She didn't let him get a word in edgewise. "And even if I'm completely wrong and you don't absolutely adore her, you might as well try because I can't be with you knowing how badly she wants you."

He didn't know what to say. Had he been that obvious? Had Elphaba been? She'd always seemed so off-limits to him. A fantasy to indulge in, a daydream. The mere thought of actually being with her had him wondering when he was going to be rudely awakened from this perfect dream. "Are you angry with me?"

Glinda shrugged, waiving at the clearly still-hungover waiter to bring them their check. "No, why do the two of you keep thinking I'm angry? No matter how much I want to be, you can't be angry with someone just for simply feeling some way. I'd be angry if you cheated on me, but I can't be angry with you for loving someone else."

"But are you really alright?"

She smiled at him, genuinely. "I will be, anyway. And I want Elphie to be happy." The check was laid down on the table. For a moment her face scrunched up in confusion, wondering if she was actually supposed to pay for her own breakfast.

He grinned and paid for the both of them without a second thought, a simple gesture that confirmed that their friendship was still intact. "In that case would you be willing to do me a favor?"

"That depends," she said suspiciously, making them both laugh. "What do I have to do?" They walked back toward the dormitories as they made their plans.

* * *

Elphaba wondered into her room and almost turned around and walked right back out. On her desk sat a vase filled to the brim with vivid yellow roses (she didn't count them, but she was sure there were more than a dozen, probably two), accompanied by several sheets of notebook paper. She plucked a flower from the vase and breathed in it's scent for a moment before returning it and picking up one of the pieces of paper.

Glinda watched excitedly from her bed as a smile formed across Elphaba's face. When she didn't say anything at first, she wasn't too shy to prompt her with a loud, "Well?"

"Well, Fiyero sent over some notes of Doctor Dillamond's contemporaries... Lin, did you put this vase on my desk by accident?"

Glinda buried her head into a pillow and groaned. "Elphie, how can someone as brilliant as you be so dense sometimes?"

"What?" Elphaba asked, genuinely confused by that point.

Glinda pointed to the desk as if Elphaba were a very young, not particularly intelligent child. "The other piece of paper on your desk... read it."

_Elphaba,_

_I am so amazed by you every day. I know you'll be worried about it getting in the way of our research, but I promise it won't... I want us to be together. Will you go out with me?_

_Fiyero_

There was no excited squealing or yelp of joy. In fact, Elphaba only looked more sea-sick than usual. Had Glinda been wrong about it all? Was this somehow not what Elphaba wanted, even if she cared for him? She'd wanted to allow them their privacy and hadn't read the letter Fiyero had written to her roommie. Had that been a mistake? "Elphie? Are you alright? What's the matter?"

"He asked me out," Elphaba said as if she were standing on thin ice and one misplaced word would cause it to break, forcing her into freezing water.

"So why aren't you happy?"

Now it was Elphaba's turn to look perplexed and to be forced to explain something that was supposed to be basic. "But he's supposed to be dating you," she said.

_No one had told her..._. Shiz wasn't a particularly large school. If something happened in the morning, the entire school knew about it by dinner. Elphaba seemed to be the exception to the rule and no one had informed her of the break up between her two closest friends. "You silly thing! I broke up with him because you love him and he loves you!"

"He loves me?"

"Yes, and you're the only one who seems to be unaware of it!" Glinda hopped off of the bed, practically skipping over to her best friend.

Still unsure, Elphaba reread the letter, almost afraid that the message could have somehow changed. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Glinda pulled a rose out and slid it into Elphaba's braid. "You find him. You tell him that you read his letter and you want to go out with him. And then you go out with him."

"Is it really that simple?"

"Yes!" And she promptly pushed her roomie out the door, locking it behind her, knowing she wouldn't return home for hours.


	7. A Threat

Ugh. I don't like this chapter. Way too dialogue heavy. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it even if I didn't.

* * *

He'd never received more odd looks in his life. Most of Shiz didn't seem to understand why he had "lowered" his standards from the beautiful Glinda to the unusual-to-say-the-least Elphaba. So many people stared at him, trying to understand his reasoning. Other boys thought he was crazy for letting a girl like Glinda go, and other girls began to wonder if maybe the Prince wasn't so far out of their league.

Fiyero didn't see what there was to understand about it. If anything, _she_ was too good for _him_. The only real problem was that she seemed to agree with everyone else and didn't think she was good enough. She'd had an adorable look of wonder on her face when she'd come to him to tell him she'd go out with him, like she was waiting to wake up from a dream. He thought it was sweet that she considered their current situation dream-worthy, but it also worried him slightly.

So, as they sat together to eat lunch with their friends, he didn't say anything special, but let his arm slide around her shoulders and prayed a little. Luckily, that prayer was answered, because she didn't shy away from him, only looked up at him to give him a private little smile and leaned in to him. The little gesture wasn't commented on, but it was noticed, at least by her. He was pretty confident that he'd never been happier and was sure he had never seen her smile more than she had in the past few days.

"So you have class in ten minutes," she murmured.

He frowned, his mood dampened as much as it could be when he had felt like he was walking on top of the world a moment before. "You already memorized my schedule?"

"I already had three classes with you, Linguistics, Ozian History, and Life Sciences. Picking up the other two wasn't hard."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Excuse me for hoping my girlfriend would go out of her way to memorize something about me."

"You're excused," she said, gently pulling away from him and standing up. "And now you should really get to class."

He pretended to whine as he stood up and collected his text books. "You're ruining my reputation, Elphaba."

"Your reputation as what, exactly? If you're Shiz's Bad Boy, we're milder than I thought," she shot back. She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek(she was still shy about most public displays of affection, so the small kiss thrilled him) and called out her roommate, "Are you ready to head home?"

"Yes," Glinda grabbed at Elphaba's hand. "Don't worry, Fiyero. I'll make sure she makes it home in one piece," she chipped, happy at witnessing the affectionate banter.

Still in a positive mood, he made his way toward his class, the last one he had before the weekend. He didn't see what could bring him down in that frame of mind, and was a little surprised when it was his best friend that tried. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

"Oh no, Av. Is this one of those conversations that's going to end with, 'it's not you, it's me'? Because if it is-"

"Stop flattering yourself," said Avaric as he shoved him. "I'm afraid you're not my type."

Sighing, Fiyero prompte him, "So what did you want to talk about?"

Avaric faltered for a second, clearly worried about what he had to say. "So you and Glinda broke up?"

"Yes. Why?" He drawled the words out as if he wanted to stall Avaric from speaking. Which, he actually did.

Avaric made a face, hoping Fiyero would have just guessed. "Well, I know you're with Elphaba now, even if I don't quite understand it-"

"Knock it off," he started but was cut off.

"Anyway, I know you're with Elphaba now, but a lot of guys are funny about their ex-girlfriends. And who they date."

"No," Fiyero said simply. "Do not tell me you want to ask Glinda out. Don't."

The protest began before the last word was even out of Fiyero's mouth. "Why? I like her, man. And I don't see why she shouldn't move on. And do I need to remind you that _you_ are dating _her_ best friend?"

"It's not that I don't want her dating one of my friends. It's that I don't want her to date you!"

Avaric rolled his eyes. "It's not that I'm asking you for permission. I'm just telling you I'm going to ask her out and was hoping you wouldn't be an ass about it."

"I'm not going to be an ass about, and I know I can't stop you, so do what you will." The two of them stood outside Fiyero's classroom. "It's just that I want you to know that if you break that girl's heart, I'm going to kill you.... actually, no, I won't kill you. I'll just hold you down while Elphaba kills you. She's much more creative about this kind of thing than I am."

Although Fiyero hadn't been kidding, Avaric laughed at the threat. "Don't worry about it, she's in good hands."

"And I already don't like the sound of that!"


	8. Together

Hello! I have to warn you... this chapter was actually about three chapters at one point.. it just wasn't getting written and I decided you would all rather me update than be completely defeated by this story and possibly never update it.... tell me if I'm wrong. Took something like eight sittings to get it presentable. Oh... completely different universe than Lie To Me... so try to keep that story OUT OF YOUR HEAD as you read this(I had a little trouble doing that as I wrote it).

* * *

The first day it was warm enough to stay outside for an extended amount of time without freezing, many Shiz students took the opportunity to relax outside, Fiyero and Elphaba among them. He (quite happily) found out that the warm weather made his girlfriend much more comfortable with affection out in the public... the fact that she was half asleep probably didn't hurt, either. He leaned against him, not minding the arm slung across her shoulders in the slightest. They had been reading a book that sat across her lap, but he found his companion much more interesting than the book on Creation Theories that she was flipping through in the hopes of finding a reference to Animals.

Without losing her place, she yawned and said, "I still can't believe Avaric and Glinda are dating now,"

He took a deep breath; it wasn't one of his favorite topics, mostly because he wasn't sure he completely trusted his best friend with any girl, particularly one he was good friends with. All the same... "He's been pretty well behaved. Since he asked her out not once has he knocked on my door at some un-Godly hour of the night, telling me he'd left his room key somewhere and asking if he can stay in my room."

"Do you let him?"

Fiyero shrugged. "As long as he doesn't mind the floor and if he cleans up after himself."

She closed the book, shifting around so she could look him in the eye. "I have to give it to him, she does seem pretty happy now. And I haven't heard of him trying anything funny."

He nodded, "It's because he adores her. If he didn't _really_ like her, he'd probably be a jerk."

"And after he was a jerk to her, we'd kill him."

"We'd kill him," he confirmed with a laugh. He watched with a little bit of wonder as she shifted her weight so she was mostly lying down, looking up past him. "You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?"

"There was a lot I needed to get done," she muttered, as good an admission as he could expect to get from her. After a few minutes of her eyelids fluttering as she fought a losing battle with sleep, she relaxed. He carefully eased off her glasses and felt very, very lucky to have her trust him as much as she did. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure what he'd done to deserve her or her trust, but he knew he was never going to let either one go.

* * *

"Fiyero," a voice accompanied a knock on his door, "Fiyero let me in!"

He blinked a few times, barely awake. Glinda's incessant knocking had woken him... what time was it? Late enough for him to be asleep, anyway. He walked to the door and opened it. He didn't bother being social- Glinda wouldn't come over at that time of night for a social call. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know what's gotten into her... she was pouring over those books of hers, again. Then all of a sudden she said something about finding proof and going to tell the Wizard. She asked me if she could borrow some luggage.... Do you have any idea what she could be babbling about?"

He nodded. She had been making breakthroughs all week, understanding much more of the textbooks than he did. She'd been mentioning that she thought they needed to do something big... like go speak with the Wizard of Oz and inform him of her findings. She was excited, but he had a bad feeling about it. A sense that something bad was about to happen, or could happen.

When they got back to the girls' dorm room, it looked like a small tornado had gone through it- clothing was tossed about, as well as books and papers. Elphaba stood in the middle of it, whirling around when she heard the door click open. "Glinda, I told you not to go get him!" she said, but all the same walking over to give him a small kiss before turning back to packing.

"Elphaba, what exactly are you doing?" he asked, stepping over a pile of clothing and shuffling a few things aside so he could sit down on her bed.

She sent Glinda an annoyed look, "I told you not to go get him..."

"Why didn't you want her to come get me? What are you doing?"

She glanced down. "You're going to give me some obnoxiously logical reason not to go tell him."

"Him? You mean..."

She stuffed a dress into her suitcase. "The Wizard of Oz? Yes... Fiyero, I was looking through some books in the Life Sciences Library. An experiment was done that found that Animal brains are much more similar to human brains than animal,"

"How do they do an experiment on brains?" asked a slightly disgusted Glinda, but she never did get an answer.

Elphaba continued, "And it's proof that the Animal Banns are completely off base. So I was going to show this study to the Wizard... OK, are you going to stop me or not, because this conversation is getting much further than I thought it would without you interrupting me."

"I was only going to suggest that you give me a week to make travel arraignments and so I can go with you," he insisted, knowing from the look on her face that nothing would be able to stop her, short of a plauge.

Although he had thought he was being very reasonable, she frowned. "A week? But... that's such a long time to wait. If I go now, then in a week's time the Banns could very well be repealed!"

"OK, stop with the 'I'. Don't think I'm going to let you do this alone, I'm going with you," he said, reaching out so he could grab her wrist and pull her down next to him on the bed. "We're a team in this, I thought?"

She smiled a little bit, some of her excitement gone. "Fine. But a week? That's too long"

"Five days. I'll make arraingments at a hotel, and use the fact that I'm a Prince to get us in."

She chewed on her lip. "Five days?" she asked, clearly still considering leaving that night.

"Two?" he asked, slightly exasperated. "That's my final offer."

She looked almost ready to protest, but thought better of it. "I guess two days isn't so long a wait," she admitted and he realized he had won. "But two days, and I'm leaving with or without you."

He got up then, kissing her lightly goodbye. "I promise, we'll set out in two days," he fluffed her hair as he walked past, the bad feeling in his stomach ever present.


	9. As If By Magic

"This is perfect, Fiyero," she murmured as they walked through the Emerald City, just two days later. He'd had to pull quite a few strings to get them lodging in the City on such short notice, but he couldn't help but feel that the smile on her face was more than worth it. She looked radiant in the soft glow of the streetlights, her hair down, wearing a new dress that Glinda had put into her luggage. The fact that she was leaning into him as they walked, not only holding his hand but letting him wrap an arm around her waist was almost enough to push the vague feeling of dread he had aside.

Almost, Almost enough, but not quite. But he didn't want _her_ to know that. "It wasn't very much, really," he insisted.

"You got us in to see the Wizard, we're going to be seeing him in three days! Fiyero, it takes most people months to get an audience with him."

"I'm a Prince and your father is the Governor of Munchkinland-" he tried pointing out but she was babbling, like she had the day they had saved the Lion Cub. It had slightly annoyed him then, but it was endearing now.

"-and the hotel is beautiful, and huge. How did you get it with only two day's notice?" She hesitated half a second for him to try to respond, but then continued before he had a chance to gather his thoughts. "Maybe I should've given you a week. You probably would've gotten us a room right in the palace!"

He decided against confirming that, yes, he probably could've gotten them a pair of guest rooms in the Emerald Palace with proper notice, instead choosing to pull her a little closer and brush a kiss across her temple. "So you're happy?" he felt he had to confirm.

"Very," she said. "Yero, We are going to talk to the Wizard of Oz in three days. We'll show him evidence to support that the Animals should get their rights back and they will. And I'm here with you, in this beautiful city, this city that is made of green. No one is staring at me, no one is pointing. I'm not a freak for once; I'm normal. What else can I ask for?"

It was true, on that night she blended in with the green city and the dark sky above better than anyone else. But she was wrong- it wasn't that no one was staring at her, it was that he was the only one, for once. And she was wrong, "You aren't normal, Fae," he said, coming up with the pet name on the spot. "You are so many better things than that. The fact that you settle for calling yourself normal breaks my heart. You really can't see all of the brilliant things you are, can you?" he asked.

"I-" she began, never finishing the sentence. The skyes opened up then, pouring down on them as efficiently as if a million buckets of water had been thrown all at once. He had a look of mixed surprise and mild horror, but that was over in a second and in the same moment they both stopped walking and started running back toward the hotel. A few claps of thunder later they reached the front doors, soaked to the bone but laughing hard. Their feet squeaked as they slopped up the elegant staircase as they went back up to their two bedroom suite.

He took their coats to hang them up so they could dry, at least somewhat and she went to get a few towels. She tossed one at him, wiping at her hair as she went to stand beneath the window, looking out. "Tonight was perfect," she repeated, not necessarily to him.

He answered her anyway, "Other than the drenching, you mean?"

"I don't think the storm hurt things any." She looked back at him with a smile, dropping the towel she had been sponging her hair with to the floor absentmindedly. He came forward to pick it up, putting it and the one she had handed him over the back of a chair, turning his attention to her. His arms wrapped around her waist instinctively from behind. This chin rested against her shoulder. They stood there for a minute, watching the storm. It rained fast and hard, and there was no surprise when it ended. Nothing that powerful could last forever, it could only hope to make it's mark on the world. Maybe it did, maybe it simply drained into the Emerald City sewers. Who can say?

She broke the spell, twisting in his arms to face him. "Let's go to bed," she said, kissing him and ducking into her bedroom.

Only he wasn't tired yet and was slightly surprised that she was. He began to tidy things up, putting the towels in a laundry basket. He felt a strong wave of contentment as he walked around the suite, making sure the door and windows were locked. The feeling of despair still didn't leave him, but he dismissed it. Maybe he had worried over nothing? Just then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, slightly surprised to see Elphaba standing there, only in her black slip. "Elphaba?" he heard himself ask, his voice slightly catching in his throat.

She looked at the ground for a second before her eyes flicked upward to meet his. "Come to bed," she said, reaching for his hands. "With me, I mean," her smile was anxious and a little awkward. As shy as she was capable of being. "If you want to."

He scanned her face for a second, looking her in the eye to make sure his hormones weren't making any sort of assumption without his mind's input. There was a little nervousness and anxiety there, in her eyes, but absolutely no fear. Still, he felt he had to say, "Are you sure?"

A little laugh escaped her throat as she said, "Of course I'm sure, Yero. I wouldn't have said anything if I weren't." She took a few steps backward, pulling him forward. "Unless you don't want to-"

The last word was barely out of her mouth before he said, "I never said that!" He (carefully) pushed her against the door that led to the room that had been intended for her- the closer of the two bedrooms, and the larger. He kissed her firmly, reaching for the door handle behind her. He pushed the door open and they fell together onto the bed, fitting together as if by magic, as if they had been made with each other in mind.

**_Now let's let them have some privacy, shall we? I promise to update soon!_**


	10. The Seeds Root

This is where I remind you that this is booksical... Oz/ the Emerald City is bookverse, the characters are musicalverse.

And yes, I know cliffhangers are evil.

* * *

For the next three days, all they enjoyed of the Emerald City was the view from their windows and room service from their hotel. Fiyero had all he wanted in that room, but Elphaba wasn't quite satisfied at staying to linger. She woke him up early on the day they were to meet the Wizard- surprising him as she was already fully dressed and had clearly spent a bit of time on her appearance that morning. She did not allow him the luxury of a leisurely morning; she had already set out a set of clothing for him. When he was finished dressing and came out into the living room, she shoved a cold bagel at him. "Well, you aren't in a hurry at all, are you?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you really want to leave him waiting?"

"Who waiting?" he asked, purely to see the look of annoyance on her face. "Do we have plans today, love?"

"You are not funny," she said scowling at him.

He grinned. "Yes I am," When she moved close enough, intending to push him toward the door, he took the opportunity to kiss her. That did slow her down for a minute, and when she pulled away for air she lingered for a second... but only a second.

"Now let's go!" she insisted, grabbing her purse and several books, pushing him toward the door. In the scuffle he grabbed her books, looping an arm around her waist, laughing lightly as she steered him to the Emerald Palace.

As he knew they would, they arrived nearly an hour before their appointment. While she flipped through her books to make sure she had all of her facts straight, he amused himself by watching her. She bit on the edge of her lip, focusing intently. He smiled to himself as he watched her, wondering when he had fallen so completely in love with her.

Eventually a mousy secretary told them they could go into the throne room; Elphaba looked vaguely like she was going to throw up. His own worry, the worry that had been growing ever since the day she had told him she wanted to see the Wizard crested, but he didn't show it. "Yero, what am I going to say?"

"Exactly what you planned to. You'll be fine, and I'll be standing right next to you," he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled much more confidently than he felt.

The door swung shut behind them and there was a clap of thunder. A giant disembodied head sat in the center of the room. Their hands collided, and he wasn't too proud to admit that he wasn't sure which one of them needed the reassurance more. "It is I, Oz, the Great and Terrible! Who seeks me?" a voice that rivaled the thunder boomed.

Elphaba looked over at Fiyero, horrified- this had not been a part of her plan. He spoke up first, "Prince Fiyero Tigelaar, of the Vinkus and Miss Elphaba Thropp, daughter of Frexpar Thropp, Governor of Munchkinalnd. We are both students at Shiz University under Madame Morrible." He threw in every title he could think of in the hopes of seeming more imposing, though he doubted it worked at all.

"Why do you seek me?" he asked in a slightly less threatening tone.

Fiyero glanced at Elphaba, unable to really answer the question, "Go ahead," he mouthed to her. "I'm right behind you."

"Your... Terribleness, I have some papers for you regarding the minds of Animals. Based on this research, I don't see how you could continue to allow the Banns on Animal employment." She hesitated, unsure of where to put the papers for him to see.

There was a momentary silence. "Miss Thropp, I can allow the Banns because they unite Oz. A common enemy gives a people strength. You are not the first young fool to attempt to change national policy, and I doubt you will be the last. Be careful and don't seek to destroy the policies that keep you safe."

"But-" she heard herself say but was cut off.

"And be wary of who you speak with. I'm sure you were familiar with a Goat Professor?"

"Doctor Dillamond?" she asked him. Before Fiyero had a chance to add anything she continued with, "He was a brilliant scholar, man or Animal."

"He was subversive and detrimental to your education. It was Madame Morrible who tipped me off, you can thank her for your well-being. She cares very much for her students."

Elphaba's face fell. Fiyero instinctively reached for her. "Thank you, your Ozness. I can see that this meeting has accomplished little. We'll let ourselves out. Have a nice day," he said, wanting to spit the words at him, but also wanting to keep his head.

"But Yero-" Elphaba started.

He squeezed her shoulder. "I know, I know," he soothed her as he led her out the door. They walked out the doors in silence. When they reached the outside doors, he let out a breath. "I'm sorry, Elphaba."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "It's not your fault that this fell through. Everything does, doesn't it?"

"No! No, it doesn't." He cupped her face, tilting her chin up. "Please, please. Don't be upset. Not everything ends badly."

Her eyes opened- they were wet and glassy. "Maybe not for you, but it does for me."

He shook his head. "No it doesn't. We haven't ended badly, have we?"

"That's why you have to go, now. Go back to Shiz, go home, go where it's safe. I can't. _I can't_." The first tears finally spilled over and he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm not going to leave you here, are you insane?" He shook her lightly, trying to get her to understand.

"I can't go back to that woman's school and I can't go home," she insisted.

"And I'm not asking you to, I'm just telling you not to push me away. Don't make me leave you, because I won't." He looked away from him, clearly wanting him to leave. He wasn't ready to give in yet. "Where do you even plan to go, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "The Wizard is nothing I expected him to be. He's behind everything wrong with Oz. I'll... I'll go underground, I'll fight him in my own way."

He scanned her face for a few seconds. She was considering, what, terrorism? His Elphaba, opinionated, yet shy, strong yet terrified, beautiful yet frightening? With sudden clarity, he realized if there was anyone in Oz to do it, it was her. "Then I'll stay with you. I'll go where you go. I'm not asking you to come home with me. I'm just asking you to not push me away. I won't live without you, Elphaba... no, not I won't, I _can't_."


	11. Happy Endings

The Chapel in Shiz University was seldom used. There was a little-attended Unionist service on Sunday mornings, and a service on Lurlinemas, but other than that, the building gathered dust. Many students never entered the building in all of their years there. But on that cold morning, all of Shiz seemed to be packed in, as well as visitors from the Vinkus and Munchkinland.

Girls cried onto to sturdy boys' shoulders. There was a loud weeping toward the front of the church- the Arjiki Queen, seated beside her husband with her younger children close at hand. Across the aisle sat a more somber party, the Governor of Munchkinland and the younger of his two daughters. Her head was down, her shoulders shaking. Her father was dry eyed and cold, staring at the minister.

Glinda sat a few pews back, Avaric's arm around her shoulders as she watched the funeral of her best friend and former boyfriend. Officially, the story was that they had been robbed in the City, and killed. The conspiracy theorists guessed it was really something political that the couple had gotten involved in. Those of a more romantic turn believed that the two lovers had come across something that would prevent them being together and had decided to end their own lives, killing themselves on the same dagger. The only consensus was that the authorities were lying to them. No one had seen either body, and both caskets were closed.

The funeral was beautiful, befitting two people of high rank, as they both were. The crowd was mixed, almost like one would see at a wedding. Indeed, her family sat to one side of the church, his the other. It was appropriate that there was only one funeral- as all of Shiz had known that Fiyero and Elphaba had begun courting each other, it had seemed natural for them to be mourned together. It had also been decided that they would both be buried in Shiz's cemetery, mostly filled with the remains of elderly professors, dotted with students who had contracted fatal illnesses.

His family had come from the West, accompanied by some higher ranking officials from the Arjiki tribe, as well as leaders of the other Vinkun tribes. Frexpar Thropp had also come, at Nessarose's insistance. Glinda suspected that was the only reason why he came, but knew better than to say anything.

The minister led the crowd outside. The day was warm and the ground was soft, making the burial easy. Glinda chose not to watch the caskets be lowered into the earth, feeling no need to. She tapped Avaric's arm and led him away. They walked in a somber silence into the woods that bordered Shiz. They walked part of the way through, Glinda leaning onto him to help keep her balance in heels on the uneven ground. She squeezed his hand. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said quietly, carefully remembering. "Wait. It should be just a few minutes, we timed it right."

Indeed, a few minutes passed and then two hooded figures came out of the deeper part of the woods. Glinda through herself at one of them. "It worked," she said.

"Thank... oh, I don't know who, thank someone," Elphaba said as she lowered her hood. Fiyero doing the same. "I was afraid we would get caught. I don't know why we were stupid enough to come back." As she said it she glared at Fiyero. "It's like we're begging to be caught."

"Don't you blame him now," Glinda chastized. "I would never, ever forgive you if you just vanished on us."

"We're just vanishing on the rest of the world, including our families. What makes Miss Glinda Upland so special?" Elphaba mocked her, but gently.

She pouted. "Because you're my best friend. And we know you aren't really dead." She choked up then, really crying. These tears rendered her mostly incapable of speech, unlike the pretty, delicate ones she had worked up for the funeral. Once she had recovered. "And even if we never do speak to each other again..." she let out a little sob as she tried to catch her breath. "And even if we never speak again, I feel better at having a chance to tell you goodbye."

Elphaba wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, not bothering to hide the fact that she was crying, too. "Don't do that, now. We made a choice and can't unmake it."

She and Fiyero had gone back to their hotel room. They had discussed their options, deciding the only real option that satisfied both of their demands was to move to the poorer district of the City and go underground, preferably falling in with a group of rebels, or perhaps founding one themselves. Although Fiyero did not have the same zeal for rebellion as she did, he shared her beliefs and would follow her to the end of the world. He knew his life was to be much more difficult than it had ever been, but he didn't care. The fact that they were wearing matching gold bands on their left hands was enough to make him content for eternity.

So Elphaba had written two letters to Glinda. One, meant for her to show others recounted a story, claiming that she and Fiyero had decided to elope(which actually had been true) and were going to stay in the City for a little longer than planned. Another letter gave Glinda very specific instructions, begging for her help.

With lies, disguises, and a bit of magic, they had faked their deaths. Elphaba had planned on slipping away, but Glinda had insisted on her returning to say goodbye, and Fiyero had badgered her into listening. "You'll be alright, won't you?" she asked her best friend.

"I'll have to be, won't I?" Glinda asked, wondering if it changed anything.

"Yes, and you'll be strong." She gave Avaric a significant look. "And you will have him to lean on when it gets to be too much to bare. You'll take care of her?"

Avaric nodded. "Of course I will."

Glinda leaned over to hug Fiyero. "And you'll make sure she won't do anything to crazy?"

"I promise to try," he said, smiling. Although the mood was somber, he was happy. He had what he wanted. He pushed the lingering feelings of grief for his family aside. He'd never felt that anything was more right than what he was doing just then. He touched Elphaba's arm. "We should go, Fae."

"He's right," she said, placing a small kiss on Glinda's cheek and taking her husband's arm. "Goodbye," she said, her voice shaking a little.

"Goodbye," Glinda and Avaric chorused.

The couple pulled their hoods back up, eager for the safety of the Emerald City, where they would be able to blend back in. They were alone, but they could be together at least in that.

The End

* * *

So, that's it... those of you who are going "Wait, that can't be it!" well, you're right. I've decided to split this story into two parts. Sort of like those movies that you just KNOW are setting up a sequel. I wanted to break it up because the second part of the story is quite a bit darker than the beginning. It also might wind up rated M (not for sex, don't get your hopes up). So look out for the second part of this, tentatively called "Until It Is Through".

In the meantime, why not leave me a review?


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